This is a reminder that the Indiana University School of Education has organized a one-day seminar, "Issues in Education," to help reporters tackle the complex issues involved with educating Indiana's children and as well as students nationwide.

Here are some of our scheduled speakers and topics:

"A Decade Plus Nine: Improvement in Indiana's Public Schools" -- presentation of a new report on state schools by Victor Smith, recently retired associate director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association and longtime teacher, consultant and education researcher.

"Engaging the Latino Learner" -- Monica Medina, clinical lecturer of curriculum and instruction and a research associate with the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education at the Indiana University School of Education in Indianapolis, speaks about the IUPUI "Latino Initiative" and education matters involving the emerging Latino population in Indiana.

"The World is Open: The New World of Education with Web Technology" -- Curt Bonk, professor of Instructional Systems Technology at the IU School of Education in Bloomington, shares information from his just-published book, The World is Open, a sort of answer to Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, exploring how technology has changed education to the point that Bonk says "anyone can learn anything from anyone at any time."

"The Growing need for Chinese Language Instruction" -- Heidi Ross, professor of educational policy studies in the School of Education and director of the East Asian Studies Center at IU, and Jennifer Liu, the director of the Center for Chinese Language Pedagogy at IU, discuss the reasons why schools can't find enough Chinese teachers and why demand is so high.

"Indiana's Schools after the Special Session" -- Terry Spradlin, associate director for education policy at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, analyzes the effect of the recent state budget on Indiana's schools as well as other new legislation that is impacting K-12 education.

The casual setting will allow for an easy exchange between reporters and faculty. Reporters will be able to get sound bites, quotes, contacts and a deeper understanding of some of the challenging issues of the day.

The $15 registration fee (payable at the seminar) includes beverages and snacks. You may register on site, but advanced registration is preferred by the end of Friday, July 17. You can download the registration form here.

For more information about this seminar, please contact: Chuck Carney, director of communications and media relations for the Indiana University School of Education, 812-856-8027 or ccarney@indiana.edu. We look forward to seeing you on July 24 and discussing some of the challenging "Issues in Education."